New Year's Eve

2016/17 was the first year that Tauranga City Council did not host an organised public event at Mount Maunganui Main Beach, continuing the approach in 2017/18.

Council will carry on with the successfully implemented changes and will be working with NZ Police and other key organisations to enhance a safe environment for Tauranga’s residents and visitors.

What is happening in Tauranga on New Year’s Eve?

• Tauranga City Council will no longer host an organised public event at Mount Maunganui and will focus instead on measures that provide a safer environment on New Year’s Eve. Council will invest solely in safety measures at Mount Maunganui, such as traffic management, lighting of dark areas and the beach, fencing of vulnerable areas and security patrols. Council will pursue supporting one of the busiest nights in the city with coordinated, advanced planning and an enhanced city and emergency services response on the night itself.
• There will be fireworks from central city locations that will be seen from across the city and can be enjoyed from home.
• Family-friendly, early evening community celebrations will take place at the central city waterfront and at Gordon Spratt Reserve in Papamoa.
• Council will work alongside NZ Police to inform residents and visitors on how to plan ahead and stay safe during New Year’s Eve in Tauranga.

Why is Council not offering an organised event on New Year’s Eve at Mount Maunganui Main Beach anymore?

• The New Year’s Eve event was the highest risk event in Tauranga. Issues of crowd control and safety arising from the 2015/16 New Year’s Eve event led to Tauranga City Council and NZ Police, in collaboration with other stakeholders, revisiting the activities on offer in the city to achieve a safer environment for our communities, in particular at Mount Maunganui Main Beach. 
• Tauranga City Council and NZ Police have invested a significant amount of time and effort investigating all the relevant information on the issues that occurred during the 2015/16 NYE event. NZ Police reported that there was an increase in the serious nature of sexual offending and serious assaults. 
• Council is working alongside NZ Police and other key organisations to put in place enhanced emergency service planning and proactive safety controls to work towards a safer place for our communities on New Year’s Eve.
• Review of New Year’s Eve event at Mount Maunganui Main Beach:
  • Council, in collaboration with key stakeholders such as NZ Police and St John, has undergone a detailed review of the 2015/16 event structure. This included impact and risk assessments as well as independent reviews.
  • As a result, four alternative event options have been considered in order to achieve a safer environment for the community. These included: keeping the current format, changing the event to a family festival, more than one event in the city, ticketed events and changes to the site layout.
  • Further investigation of these options made it clear that in order to manage the risks associated with an event on New Year’s Eve, cost of implementing a safe event would increase significantly. 
  • The option to not offer an organised event on New Year’s Eve proved to be the most sustainable option for New Year’s Eve in Tauranga.

What will happen on New Year’s Eve in the future?

• How New Year’s Eve in Tauranga will look in the future is yet to be determined; all strategic decisions will be based on building a safe environment for our visitors and residents on what is traditionally, a very busy night in our city. This will be assessed and determined over time, however, the new approach was successfully implemented in 2016/17 and will be carried on this year.
• Mount Maunganui Main Beach has a legacy for being the place to go for New Year’s Eve. Council is therefore mandated by our communities to put all possible measures in place to protect people and environment. 
• There remains a need for safe New Year’s Eve celebrations that can be enjoyed by families and friends and these are the first steps towards that direction.